***
Marina was standing outside the dhyānved hall for his ward to make sure his Jaladīksā ritual went smoothly.
The dawn has just graced the morning sky, the sun, peeking from the mountainous horizon, a slight breeze of autumn and silent ebb of ocean made the atmosphere perfectly soothing and meditative for the ritual.
In time Noctis could also be seen strolling down along with Elle towards her. His change still caught her off guard even though she had just seen not too long ago.
It was inevitable however, the Eldalië's were far too rare outside their homeland, even though she had encountered a few trading in the L'occhio region, it was first for her to see what they would consider 'toddler' strutting about in the valleys of capital of Elutheria.
Eventually they reached Marina and she bowed a little towards Noctis and mumbled, for herself rather than to convey,
"You just had to make your position even more uncertain than it already is. Not that it is any of your fault."
She patted his head a bit and said, out loud to Noctis this time,
"Time to go then. Are you ready?"
Noctis just nodded his head to whatever he understood to be a yes or no question without much expression.
"I see the change had little effect on your psyche. As it were. Let us then." And she took his hand from Elle and proceeded to enter the hall.
•••
Although his face showed little reaction, his heart was filled with various emotions trying to overwhelm at every second.
No matter what he focused on it filled him with more and more awe towards this unknown world. The scenery was straight out of a fantasy game, the air felt the cleanest and purest he ever experienced. The buildings that he came across and was now entering spoke of wonder that he had no way of expressing through words.
Along with the awe however he felt an ever increasing uncertainty towards what the future held. Right now however he had to focus on the task ahead.
He had been led into a giant building with a prang or shikhara-like structure above the main building. From what he could understand it was a giant hall with multiple chambers surrounding it along with entrances in four cardinal directions. The hall was almost empty barring a few old men in violet robes in the centre sitting in lotus position and likely meditating.
They passed by them towards the entrance on the opposite side from where they had entered. Walking by they noticed many more such halls and buildings with gardens and other structures dotted in. Eventually they reached another smaller building but with a very intricate gates adorned entirely of peacock motifs on its gates and lotuses on its head.
It was more isolated even compared to the halls and looked much more sacred from the materials used in the making.
As he entered the building he noticed a pool at the garden at the open end of the building. He had to stop however at the gate of the building, since his caretaker had stopped and knocked a little on the open door.
Form his memories, he understood that either his parents were dead or too damn busy to even visit their child in nearly the whole damn year he remembered. He rather hoped for former.
The middle aged woman was his kind of his caretaker along with Elle and Henneke, that were like nannies, I know embarassing, to him. She was responsible for his studies. She was the one who imparted to him his knowledge, memory? that he had.
"Your holiness. I am honoured beyond ords." Said Marina with a very reverent bow with hands clasped towards a very old man that came towards the entrance they were standing at.
Looking at Marina, Noctis also bowed towards this old, likely important figure.
"Rise, my child. May the waves be your guide."
After saying this the old man focused his gaze on Noctis. Noctis contemplated whether staying in his eye would be rude or not but decided ignoring would likely be worse. So he just stated without blinking.
Thus two men, one a few years waking the land old and another a few years remaining on land old stared at each other for a full minute or so.
Eventually he turns around and started waking. Marina took Noctis's hands again and started following.
The reached halfway from entrance and the garden with the pool and sat down.
The old man sat with pond to his right and Marina and Notis with facing the pond a few feet from the old man, not in their view but a little to the side.
As he started with what seemed like some prayers, Noctis assumed it would be finished in 10-15 minutes to half an hour most.
He was wrong.
***
Notis had lost track of time now. The prayers had not subsided, in fact the members at the hall had only increased which only added to his already thin patience. His feet had gone numb from all the pain and ache. His eyes were threatening to shut at any given moment but the old man seemed like he had made up his mind to finish all his prayer today only before leaving this material realm.
•••
Another hour or so must have passed as tide had brought the sun directly overhead given the position of shadows in the garden.
Since he did not have any thing before coming to this sacrifice, he felt weak form the intense hunger that gnawed at his senses.
What kind of butcher starves their prey before decapitation?
The humidity despite some breeze was another indicator. The prayers or who knows what spells were still being chanted now in unison by younger shamans that had entered the hall and were sitting behind the old shaman.
So as to not allow the sacrificial lamb to not escape into the comfort of sleep, they also had him repeat some spell time to time that he had to get right even though the syllables were far beyond the realms for mortals.
When Noctis had lost all hope, finally the shamans stopped their spells and stood up and did Marina and the old man. Seeing this Nostis also absentmindedly tried to stand up, only to fall down and held by Marina due to the legs being alredy sacrificed in the preparatory phase.
The head shaman looked at him with a victorious grin ridiculing his weakness at what he considered at a daily ritual and waved his hand at him in a celebration of victory when,
'Huh, my legs? They are okay??? How the he-'
All of Noctis's daydreaming immediately vanished the instant he realised what just happened.
'Magic.'